“In the Frensce manere”: French Song in Medieval Europe by Various, Od (2023/2023), Dirigent Marc Lewon, The Round Church, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Matthieu Romanens – voice Baptiste Romain – vielle, bagpipes Marc Lewon – gittern, citole, voice; direction With this innovative new programme, Ensemble Leones will transport you back in time to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when French culture was all the rage across the courts of Europe. Alongside an exploration of cultural exchanges between the trouvères and troubadours in the North and South of France respectively, Ensemble Leones will also trace French ideas and styles in the minnesingers of Germany and the famous Cantigas of Alfonso X of Castile, including via reconstructions of repertory long assumed to be irrecoverable—until now… Combining mesmerising and engaging interpretations with the latest academic research, Ensemble Leones will explore chivalric songs about love, honour, revenge, knightly heroes and bereft damsels in the atmospheric setting of the Round Church (built by crusaders in the twelfth century). This concert forms part of a research conference held at St John’s College, University of Cambridge (14th January, 2023).